Tough as Nails
by RobinxRaven writer
Summary: It takes a certain kind of willpower to make a sandwich when you're covered in stab wounds and have a knife lodged into your shoulder.


A/N

When this idea popped into my head it made me laugh, so hopefully it makes you laugh too.

~Tough as Nails~

It was the middle of the night, and Raven sat on the couch in the common room, reading. She hadn't been able to fall asleep, and even though it was late she wasn't feeling the effects of exhaustion one might feel after being awake for more than 18 hours. Tired of tossing and turning in her bed, Raven had decided to grab an old book and head to the kitchen to make herself a pot of tea.

It was nice and quiet, and Raven had managed to finish several chapters of her book before she got distracted. What pulled her out of her novel was the sound of the common room door opening, and Robin's voice calling out, "Hey Raven. What're you doing up so late?" She heard him opening cabinets and the refrigerator, and some plastic wrap crinkled as he made himself a snack.

"Reading. How was your patrol?" She asked.

"Easy peasy. I only ran into a couple of muggers." He answered. "But I made quick work of them." There was the sound of chips falling against plates. "Hope you don't mind, but I'm going to take some of your tea." She heard him grab the pot and the sound of water filling a cup pervaded the silence, followed shortly by the sound of Robin using a spoon to stir the contents of his drink.

Raven reached forward and grabbed her bookmark, setting it between the pages she was on and closing her book. "Excuse you, who said you coul-" She turned around to face him, her tone playful, but stopped when she lay eyes on him. "What the hell happened?!" She exclaimed, dropping her book on the ground and running over to the counter where Robin stood, holding a plate with a sandwich and chips on it.

In his left shoulder a knife had been embedded to the hilt, and his uniform had been cut in several places along his torso and legs. It was stained with blood, and Raven saw that there was glass in his hair, as though he'd jumped through a window. His right sleeve had a bullet hole in it, and it looked as though the bullet that caused it had grazed his arm, rather than getting lodged in it.

Robin just raised an eyebrow, finishing the bite of the sandwich he'd taken and shrugging. "It's no big deal. I've been through worse." He said casually, picking up a potato chip and munching on it. "Sides, you have to, y'know." He pointed his pinky at her.

"That's not the point!" She took the plate away from him, ignoring his protests. "Come on, we're going to the medical floor." She started tugging him, and Raven heard the plate slide against the counter as he used his grappling hook to pull it back to him. As they walked through the hallways, Raven noticed something. "There's no blood…" Despite his grievous wounds, there wasn't a blood trail on the floor or in the elevator.

"I cauterized the wounds before I came here." He said, taking another bite out of the sandwich.

"What?! How? With what?" Raven inquired, gently placing a finger over the cuts. On closer examination, she saw that the skin was pink and that his wounds weren't bleeding. He was telling the truth.

Robin balanced the plate on one hand, reaching into his utility belt with the other. "With this." He held up a small, cylindrical tube that looked like it might've been for chapstick. Raven plucked it from his grasp, noting how warm it was. When she took the cap off, it revealed a red hot tip. "Careful, I don't want the smoke alarm to go off while were in here." Raven handed the object back to him.

The elevators dinged, and Robin led the way to medical room. "Why did you do something so reckless?" Raven asked as she set him down on the bed, walking over to the medicine cabinet and pulling out several small bottles and the first aid kit.

"Because-" He wiped the corner of his mouth, "I would've lost a lot of blood if I hadn't, and I didn't want to waste money on a cleaning crew." His snack finished, Robin put the plate beside him on the bed.

"One of us could've done it." Raven muttered. "Hold still." She grabbed the disinfectant and poured it on a cotton ball, then used the tweezers to apply it to his skin.

He didn't react to the sting that normally accompanied her actions. "I seem to recall the last time one of us bled in the halls, there was a huge fiasco about who would clean it." He smirked when she gave him an annoyed look. "And it ended with us hiring a cleaning and wasting $200 on something that could've been done for free."

"We didn't Starfire was a hemophiliac until that day." Raven countered.

"And what about Cyborg?" He asked.

"His argument was valid. It's your blood, you should clean it up yourself." Raven argued.

"I was injured!" He laughed. Raven rolled her eyes. "I should've been free to chill out like Beastboy while I was recovering." Once she was done disinfecting his cuts, Raven held up her hand and it was surrounded with a blue aura. He felt a cool, numbing sensation, and Robin saw that his wounds were closing completely and fading away, not even leaving a scar. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. We still have that deal with." Raven pointed a finger at the knife in his shoulder. "Hold sti-"

Robin wrapped his right hand around the hilt and pulled it out in one swift motion.

Raven gasped, shocked when blood spurted from the wound and stained his sleeve red. Pressing both hands over his wound and summoning her healing magic, she closed the wound almost instantly.

"All done." He smiled at her nonchalantly. Robin put the knife on the plate and stood up. He tilted his head when he saw Raven staring at the blood on her hands. "Um… you might want to wash your hands."

She grabbed him by the collar, and the bottles she'd brought over from the medicine cabinet exploded. "What is wrong with you?" She questioned angrily. "Don't you have any concern for your well being? You can't just waltz in and out of every fight like this! You're not invincible!"

Robin grabbed her hands, and she let go of him and stepped back. "Of course I'm not invincible." He murmured. "I just… know my limits, that's all. I didn't mean to scare you."

Raven looked at him for a moment without saying anything. "Do you have any other injuries I should know about?" She asked quietly.

"Mmm…." He looked up at the ceiling, humming.

"Robin!" She growled, grinding her teeth together.

"I don't!" He shielded himself from a look that could kill. And here she was supposed to be helping him. "Honest. You got em all." She lifted up his arms, poked his legs, then turned him in a circle.

"Alright." She sighed. "I'm going to bed. Using healing magic drains my powers incredibly fast."

"Really? I didn't know that." He said. "Goodnight Raven. And thanks again! I feel a lot better now."

She nodded and left, leaving Robin to clean up the broken bottles.

~Tough as Nails~

A week later, Robin awoke to the sound of his alarm beeping. Clicking the off button, Robin sat up. It wasn't early; the sun had set a few hours ago. He wasn't one to sleep during the day, but it was his turn to go on patrol tonight.

After heading to the kitchen and making a quick snack, Robin went down to the first floor and went outside to the garage where his bike was kept. Punching in the security code, Robin stepped back as the garage door opened. The moonlight lit up his R-Cycle, and Robin lifted up the kickstand and pulled it out of the garage.

A shadow appeared above him, and Robin looked up to see Raven descending towards the ground. "Hm? What are you doing?" He asked as her feet touched the ground.

"Coming along." She told him, taking her hood off.

"You… went on patrol last night, remember?" He asked her. "Today's your day off."

"I know that. But someone has to make sure you come home tonight, _not_ covered in knife wounds." Raven said.

Robin smirked. "I only have one helmet, you know."

"I fly, blunder boy. I'm used to high wind speed." Raven said. "Now let's get going."

Robin shook his head, but started his bike anyway. Raven sat behind him, and the two headed across the land bridge into Jump City.


End file.
